Opened June 2017 in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, The Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George R. Brown Salute to the Home Front tells the story of the road to war and the Home Front, drawing on personal narratives and evocative artifacts to highlight facets of WWII-era American life through an experiential narrative.

The newly renovated Malcolm S. Forbes Rare and Iconic Artifacts Gallery provides a new opportunity for the Museum to highlight hidden gems from its vast collection of more than a quarter of a million objects and a wealth of archival materials and oral histories—only a small percentage of which can be displayed at any one time.

Beyond All Boundaries, showing exclusively in The National WWII Museum’s Solomon Victory Theater, is a 4D journey through the war that changed the world. This Museum-produced experience is narrated by executive producer Tom Hanks, with Phil Hettema serving as show producer and creative director. Beyond All Boundaries features dazzling effects, CGI animation, multilayered environments, and first-person accounts from the trenches to the Home Front read by Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Gary Sinise, Patricia Clarkson, Wendell Pierce, and more.

Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries retraces the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by way of New Guinea and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Burma, the islands of the Pacific, China, India, and Alaska.

Road to Berlin brings to life the drama, sacrifices, personal stories, and strategies of America’s campaign to defeat the Axis powers and preserve freedom.

The first-floor galleries, In Honor of David W. Trott Finding Hope in a World Destroyed, honor the sacrifices of the WWII generation and explores the immense cost of war with exhibits on the Holocaust, Anne Frank, faith in wartime, and the Monuments Men and Women. Stories of both loss and liberation reveal the true horror of the conflict as victors and vanquished alike began the tough task of rebuilding their shattered world.

The second floor of Liberation Pavilion, The Goldring Family Foundation and Woldenberg Foundation Forces of Freedom at Home and Abroad (1945–Present), explores the war’s impact in the postwar period and its lasting legacies today. Exhibits examine the rebuilding efforts of a world destroyed, the war crimes trials, the emergence of the United States as a world “superpower,” movements for social change and civil rights, new technological innovations, and the war’s impact on foreign policy.

The Priddy Family Foundation Freedom Theater on the third floor of Liberation Pavilion offers audiences a multimedia experience focused on what was at stake during World War II and the meaning of Allied victory. The production, developed by The Hettema Group, highlights how freedom almost vanished from the world in the 1930s and 1940s, efforts to protect and promote freedom during and after World War II, and how each generation has a responsibility to defend democracy, protect freedom, and advance human rights. At a pivotal moment in the show, the theater audience platform itself rotates.

From his tours of duty as a US Navy lieutenant during World War II to his term as President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush inspired generations of Americans through his lifetime of service. As a prominent and lasting tribute in his honor, the George H.W. Bush Aviation Gallery—located in the airspace of our US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center—features six fully restored iconic WWII warbirds, including a General Motors TBM Avenger like Bush flew as the youngest pilot in the Navy at that time.

Final Mission: USS Tang Submarine Experience places visitors aboard the most successful submarine in World War II for its fifth and final war patrol on October 25, 1944. Guests relive the last epic battle of the USS Tang and feel a deeper appreciation for the bravery and sacrifice of those who served in the intense, confined world of underwater warfare.

From the iconic Jeep to the ubiquitous Sherman, Allied forces depended upon the vehicles that American assembly lines produced. The Vehicles of War exhibit focuses on the equipment that was an integral part of daily life in World War II—often making the difference between life and death for the troops they served.

Designed for up to 36 visitors at a time to participate, What Would You Do? presents difficult decisions faced by real people during World War II.